Most people care about their long term health, and try to do what they can each day live a healthy lifestyle. Our nutrition has a huge impact on our health, and poor dietary habits can take years or even decades off of our lives.

The busy modern lives we lead present a whole new set of nutritional challenges. Instead of sitting down for a home cooked meal each night, many people stop by the drive-thru or pick up a pizza on the way home. Instead of snacking on fresh fruits our cupboards are full of chips, cookies and crackers that are loaded with flour, sugar, salt, and artificial ingredients.

Convenience foods are everywhere today on grocery store shelves, at quickie markets, gas stations and fast food restaurants. These foods may save us valuable time, but unfortunately they may be taking more time away from us than they are giving. Many of these foods contain only highly processed ingredients that are all but devoid of any nutritional value. On top of that they are usually very high in calories, carbohydrates, and dietary fat in other words they are unhealthy in very possible way.

Many of the foods we now eat on a regular basis are not good for us. Below I will talk about some of the worst offenders; foods you should certainly avoid if you care about your health.

Fast Food: These days there is a fast food restaurant on every major intersection sometimes more than one. The great majority of the menu items at these restaurants are high in calories, fat, sugar and salt, and contain no fresh ingredients and very little in the way of nutrients. Websites that rate foods with the common grading system give the great majority of fast food items an “F”. Making even the most basic meal from fresh ingredients will provide you with 10-100 times the amount of vital nutrients in a fast food meal.

Commercial Baked Goods: The doughnuts, pastries, cookies and other tasty treats you’ll find in the bakery section of the grocery store are loaded with flour, sugar, artificial colors, and worst of all, trans-fatty acids. These are fat molecules that have been modified to stay solid at room temperature, and have been shown to be detrimental to heart health. Resist the temptation to indulge in these foods whenever possible, as there is no safe level of consumption for trans-fatty acids.

Deep Fried Foods: Fried foods like French fries, funnel cakes, and doughnuts are certainly delicious but they’re absolutely loaded with fat, calories and carbohydrates. An entrée of breaded and friend chicken strips can have double the fat and calories of a baked chicken dish without the breading. If you regularly eat fried foods you could be adding thousands of unnecessary calories to your diet each week, which will certainly have a negative impact on your long term health.

There are other unhealthy foods out there that you should probably avoid, but these are three of the worst offenders. By making a lifestyle change and removing these foods from your regular diet, you will be doing your long term health a pretty big favor.

There is more to getting healthy and fit than simply losing weight. You must also permanent changes to your lifestyle that are necessary to keep the weight off. If you fail to do so, as many dieters do, you wind up on the diet seesaw, losing and gaining back the same weight over and over.

So what does it take to not only lose the weight in the first place, but avoid gaining it back? Researchers created the national weight control registry to answer this very question, and the data they collected is quite enlightening. The registry tracked the habits of over 6,000 participants who lost a minimum of 30 pounds and kept it off for the 12-month period that followed. Here are some of their key findings:

Controlling Food Intake

The successful participants continued to follow a calorie-controlled diet even after they had reached their goals. They controlled their portion sizes, and implemented many of strategies they employed to lose weight in their efforts to maintain it. Conscious eating is necessary for weight loss, but it is also necessary for weight maintenance.

The participants also followed a structured pattern of eating throughout the week. Establishing a routine allows your body to adapt to a new way of eating with minimal discomfort. Cravings are reduced, and you always know when and what your next meal will be, so dealing with hunger is not as difficult. These folks also splurged every once in a while and enjoyed foods they did not usually eat. However, these meals were planned in advance and limited to once every week or so.

Successful weight loss maintainers also ate smaller meals four to five times per day to stave off hunger and keep their blood sugar from spiking and crashing. They drank a minimum of five to six glasses of water per day as well, as thirst is often mistaken for hunger, and staying hydrated helps keep the appetite under control.

Most of those who were tracked reported eating breakfast every day shortly after rising in the morning. This is crucial for keeping energy levels stable throughout the day, as you start off the day with the nutrients and calories you need to get going. Including protein in your breakfast is also important, as it slows gastric emptying and prevents the mid-morning crash that is associated with starchy or sugary breakfasts.

Regular Exercise

The successful participants also exercised every day. Many people pat themselves on the back for working out twice per week, but the truth is, 60 minutes of exercise is recommended per day. It does not have to be strenuous, even a brisk walk around the neighbourhood will suffice. The point is to get up and get moving, and to do it every day.

The most successful “losers” also made it a habit to weigh themselves on a regular basis. Weight gain has a way of creeping up on us slowly, so if you are not keeping an eye on your weight, you may put on 10 or more pounds before you notice your clothes getting tighter. Weighing on a regular basis prevents you from getting caught by surprise when your favorite jeans suddenly do not fit anymore.

You are what you eat and what you eat affects your life in a major way. Different foods have different effects to the body, there for it is very important to choose the right food before you eat. Below are examples of healthy foods that not only keep in you in good shape but also in good health.

1. Spinach.
Spinach is among the healthiest vegetables in the world. Spinach is very low in fat and even lower in cholesterol. Spinach contains a lot of nutrients including zink, vitamins A, C, E and k, calcium, iron and many more. Spinach has also been proven to be a good cancer fighting vegetable.

2. Nuts, seeds and peanuts.
Edible seeds and nuts contain natural oils and a small amount of calories which provide the body with very healthy fats. They also have other nutrients such as magnesium and Vitamins. Eating nuts makes someone thirsty, this makes them drink water which is very important for the body.

3. Beans.
Beans are a very cheap and healthy source of protein, these proteins help in repairing worn out muscles. It has also been proven eating legumes, beans included help in reducing chances of getting heart diseases by 22%.

4. Garlic.
Garlic contain Allicin making it a very good antioxidant which helps in burning calories in the body. Garlic is a very powerful disease fighter, and helps in protecting the body against cancer, heart disease and also improves the immunity of the body, it also inhibits development and growth of bacteria in the body.

5. Avocados.
Avocados are very popular world wide because of the different wide range of benefits it has. Avocados contain natural oils that are good for the body and the hair. Avocados are very rich in fiber which helps in preventing constipation.

6 Salmon.
Salmon is a very good source of protein which help in building a healthy body and omega 3 fatty acids which are good for a healthy brain and improves memory. Omega 3 has also been proven to protect the body against heart diseases, cancer and even depression.

7. Brown rice.
Rice is among the worlds oldest and most consumed cereals. Brown rice has more benefits to the body than regular rice. Brown rice is very rich in fiber, vitamin B1 and magnesium.

8. Milk, cheese and yoghurt.
Cheese is very tasty and has a lot of nutrients, one slice of cheese contains the same amount of nutrients as a whole glass of milk. Milk and yoghurt contain healthy animal protein, very rich in vitamins and minerals.

The ancient art of yoga had been practiced in India for centuries before it began to spread, and for centuries more before the recent Western embracement of the sensation. While many today view it as an opportunity to exercise, gain muscle, or burn calories, the original purpose of yoga was much more focused on spiritual development rather than physical. Today’s American gyms focus on teaching the exercise and poses while conveniently forgetting to address the self awareness and development differentiates it from all other sports.

Not all is lost, however, one can still reap the benefits of traditional yoga if they take the time to learn how to properly practice it. Traditional yoga can help bring peacefulness to the mind of the participant, relieving stress from many long days at work and decreasing susceptibility to diseases and burnout. To do this effectively, it requires the participant to choose to meditate while they work through the postures and poses that make yoga so iconic. While it is easy to “zone out” and focus on the physical movements one is completing, a return to traditional yoga requires mindfulness that is dedicated to refreshing the brain. This is the only way that one can achieve actual stress relief and other health benefits from yoga.

No one is born a yoga expert, and online is never quite the same as an in-person experience, so those interested in traditional yoga will want to find a high quality place of practice. Depending on your location this may be more difficult than for others, but is still feasible. Start by looking outside your gym membership. While it may have tantalizing free classes, they are the most likely to be focused on the exercise and physicality of yoga. Instead, look for independent studios taught by licensed instructors. Watch a class to determine if the instructor is leading the class in breathing and meditation activities or simply conducting them through the motions of yoga. Choose a location that you feel offers the most mentally in depth classes.

Overall, yoga done correctly can reap many benefits. Participants often find that develop a better connection between mind and body that leads to greater understanding of the self. It can help teach breathing techniques and meditation strategies that can release stress and prevent anxiety. Lastly, it teaches the participant how their own mind works, allowing them to live more consciously, identify triggers, and how to overcome natural responses. Traditional yoga, rather than modern yoga, is the key to unlocking the mental and physical benefits that non-practicers will spend hundreds of hours unsuccessfully chasing.